The purpose of this essay is to identify the long-term health benefits of physical

education. Long term ranging from twenty to fifty years and physical activity

referring to simple workouts. These workouts could be running or jogging, playing

different sports at an intermediate level. This paper is aimed towards children as

well as adolescents. Although physical activity has a positive benefit for all ages, it is

definitely preferable for everyone to workout because there are numerous health,

physical, and psychological benefits and several more. Routine physical activity has

the ability to help avoid non-communicable diseases, such a coronary heart disease

and diabetes mellitus, causing rising cost in the health system. Results show that

physical activity is associated with better health and that the development of these

specific diseases could be avoided. Most non- communicable diseases result from

living an unhealthy lifestyle such as eating unhealthy food and or drinking excessive

amounts of alcohol, smoking, as well as physical inactivity (Reiner, Niermann, Woll &

Jekauc , 2013). There are three different points that will be made in this paper, the

long term health benefits of physical activity on the achievements of students,

depression and self confidence. These points will discuss the importance for

physical activity for each of them.

Physical activity could always have a positive effect especially as a growing

adolescent, at this day and age most children or even teenagers are usually glued to

their electronic devices, including the television, game cube, cellphones, laptops and

so on. They begin to become lazy due to all the time spent looking to a screen rather

than going out and moving around or playing. Also the rates of obesity in
adolescents have grown in the past years, the combination of sitting down for most

of the day and eating is the cause. People at that age are growing and need that

physical activity in their lives, how they choose to live their lives in that period of

time molds their future. Making bad decisions at that age could have a truly bad

effect on their future. Luckily schools often have a class called physical education

class, it is added into their school time, which makes it convenient but also at times

mandatory. Although not all students enjoy this course or prefer to take this course

it has been showing a positive effect for them. These classes involve light exercise

including running or jogging, yoga, intermediate sports and so on. These forms of

physical activity get the heart rate up.

The benefit that this paper is focused on for school-based students is that physical

activity could improve their academic achievements. Physical activity has been said

to give students a better outlook on schoolwork. It also shows that there may be a

short-term improvement on their concentration (Taras, 2005). There have been

recent results that suggested how physical activity has a positive effect on learning

and memory. This helps children throughout their school-based career. It has also

been suggest by James S Coleman that if time is taken out of the academic programs

to allow other pursuits then academic achievements could be hindered, but adding

in that physical activity could increase self confidence as well as increase the

students attachment to school which indirectly is important in the whole learning

experience. Many different quasi-experimental studies have been used and the results

show an improvement in schoolwork (Trudeau & Shephard, 2008).

Another benefit of light exercise on adolescents would be that if helps reduce mental

health issues such as depression. Projections are that by the year 2020, depression will be

second to heart disease in the contribution to the global burden (Chapman & Perry,

2008). Depression has never been as big of an issue as it is now, the amount of people

that have been committing suicide has increased substantially, and the age of these people

have been getting younger. In the case of school-based students many children have been

developing depression, which leads to suicide at times. The pressure on not being

societys explanation of perfect causes they insecurities. Routine physical activity clearly

shows an improvement in depression and other mental illnesses. There is an apparent

relation between the two (Biddle & Asare, 2011). Physical activity working out

releases endorphins; the endorphins trigger a positive feeling similar to the medication

morphine. The evidence for this study shows a small but clear relation between the two.

Depression seems to rise sharply after puberty for girls; the burden is highest in low-

income and middle-income countries. In some cases depression in adolescents can be

reviewed early on-set of the equivalent adult disorder. (Thapar, Collishaw, Pine &

Thapar, 2012). Although adolescents have separate problems to worry about at school

with the work and other students as well as trying to maintain a social life, when they go

back home having the same problems does no make that easier. Many children struggle

in school, but all of them need a safe place to go back to when the day ends.
Another reason that light exercise has a positive effect on adolescent would be to help

boost self-confidence. It is normal to have feelings of self doubt and low confidence

although this has become an increasing problem in the past generations due to the fact

that everyone desires to look better then the next. There is constant competition, which

causes less self-confidence and sometimes even depression. Especially in the puberty

years many children are not happy with the way they look. It has not been like this in the

past, adolescents have never been this effectuated with their looks, but with the

competition and urge to be perfect that is what it has been causing. Feeling healthier and

looking fit does have a positive effect on how people feel, everyone wants to loose that

extra weight or look as good as possible. School-based student weather they are boys or

girls always feel like the have to compete.

Its been stated that physical activity in definitely related to improvement in self-esteem,

symptoms of depression anxiety as well as stress. There were no negative outcomes of

physical activity. This suggests that physical activity has a psychological benefit in youth

(Calfas & Wendell, 1994).

Light exercise has an apparent long-term benefit on all people. It is shown that light

exercise can help students achievement as well as attachment to school, depression and

self-confidence. Exercise is needed in an adolescents lives, it is healthier for them to be

outdoors moving around and getting in that physical activity rather than staying glued to

their electronics. It does have short term as well as long term benefits.
Taras, T. H. (2005, August). Physical activity and student performance at school.

Trudeau, F., & Shephard, R. J. (2008, February 25). Physical education, school physical
activity, school sports and academic performance.

Biddle, S. J., & Asare, M. (2011, September). Physical activity and mental health in
children and adolescents: a review of reviews.

Thapar, A., Collishaw, S., Pine, D. S., & Thapar, A. K. (2012, March 17). Depression in
adolescence.

Chapman, D. P., & Perry, G. S. (2008, January). Depression as a major component of

public health for older adults.

Calfas, K. J., & Taylor, W. C. (1994, November). Effects of Physical Activity on

Psychological Variables in Adolescents.